1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the remote ordering of goods and more particularly, to a remote ordering method and system in which patrons utilize wireless hand-held devices to order menu items at large venues, which have identifiable seat locations, for delivery to their seats.
2. Description of Related Art
Sporting events, concerts and other large gatherings of spectators, or patrons take place in an arena, stadium, or other confined facility or venue having seating in uniquely identifiable seats, which are usually reserved or assigned. At these events, the ability of patrons to secure refreshments in the form of food and drink is limited. It is customary for hungry and thirsty patrons to await the arrival of roving vendors who intermittently traverse the aisles of the facility hawking various items of food and drink. These vendors frequently carry only a single type of food or drink. Often a wait of many minutes must be endured until a vendor appears who, hopefully but infrequently, has the item sought. Even then, the vendor may not have the correct change and considerable disruption occurs to those other patrons seated between the purchaser and the vendor. This is a very ineffective and inefficient method of ordering and delivering items of food, drink and merchandise to patrons.
The other method of obtaining food or drink is to queue up in long lines at refreshment or concession stands, which are scattered outside the main area in the hallways of the venue, where several but not all types of refreshments can often be purchased together at a single stand.
It is also common for venue operators to sell souvenir merchandise, such as programs, pennants, T-shirts, caps, trinkets, and CDs. These may also be occasionally purchased from the roving vendors in the facility, but, more often, must be purchased from a merchandise or concession stand elsewhere in the facility. However, it is seldom possible to purchase all of these items at a single concession stand.
As a result, a patron wishing to purchase several different types of food and drink and some items of merchandise must wait for multiple vendors and also visit multiple stands, probably missing seeing part of the event taking place in the venue. Thus, there is a need for a system whereby patrons can order items from a remote location for delivery to their seats.
Remote ordering systems, in which items are ordered from a location remote from item supply, are known in the prior art. However, these systems do not address the problems outlined above. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,110 discloses a remote ordering system intended for use by homeowners or businesses to facilitate ordering from multiple vendors without the need to travel to the vendor. This patented system is similar to current systems of placing orders from a business office computer environment over the Internet or other telecommunications links using complex menus to obtain numerous parts from numerous possible business suppliers and vendors. This is distinctly different from the problem of a patron remotely ordering food, beverages and souvenir menu items from vendor facilities located in the same building structure for delivery to the patron""s seat. Furthermore, this system is unduly complex in that it requires use of secondary data input devices, such as bar code scanners and the like to input desired product codes.
The remote order terminals described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,415,065 and 4,569,421 are intended and suited for use by the employees serving the customer/patron, rather than for use by the patron himself For example, in its restaurant application, the patron uses a wireless paging system to summon the employee operating the remote order terminal. The order function is then carried out by the employee, but does not address the problems described above, since an intervening employee action is required
U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,509 discloses a customer self-ordering system. However, this patent teaches use of a kiosk-style touch screen monitor self-ordering system for places such as fast food restaurants. This would require patrons to leave their seats, and, consequently, does not address the problems described above, since the patron must leave his seat and journey to a fixed location to order.
There is a need for a system whereby patrons having identifiable seats in a venue can send an order for various menu items, such as food, drink, souvenir merchandise, and services from their seats to a remote order fulfillment location and have the order delivered to their seats. There is also a need for this system to include a provision for remote payment for the order, to eliminate the distraction and hassle of engaging in a cash-and-change situation in the venue.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a system whereby patrons having identifiable seats in a venue can self-order various menu items of food, drink, souvenir merchandise, and services from their seats to a remote fulfillment location and have the order delivered to their seats.
It is another object to provide a system which includes a provision for remote payment for the order.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a system with which patrons can review a visual and/or audible menu of the available tangible and intangible items of food, drink, merchandise and services without leaving their seats.
In one aspect, this invention features a remote ordering system for patrons at a large-scale venue having identifiable seats in which a patron uses a handheld electronic communication device, which displays or announces a full menu of items offered, to order selected items. The order includes identification of the items ordered and the seat location or patron identification, and is transmitted to a central order-fulfilling site, where the order is assembled and thereafter delivered to the patron at the identified seat location. Payment is done by a prearrangement involving prepayment, credit line, or the preauthorized use of a credit or debit card.
In another aspect this invention features a remote ordering system comprising a plurality of portable, wireless, hand-held, patron-operated remote communication devices, each of which has a batten, a display and/or speaker for presenting a plurality of menus listing items for sale, and/or offering services, function keys for navigating the menus and selecting items to be ordered, and wireless means of communicating the order to a remote order processing station and receiving confirmation of order receipt, a transceiver at the processing station for communicating with the ordering devices, and a computer for processing the orders and arranging payment for the order.
The remote ordering devices may be special purpose hand-held devices especially designed for use in this system, or, alternatively, may be conventional hand-held wireless communication devices, such as cell phones, two-way pagers, or portable digital assistants (PDAs).
It is contemplated that special purpose devices would be available to those patrons who do not carry one of the conventional devices. These special devices would be prepared for each event at a central location, having battery charging and menu programming capability, and transported to kiosks near patron entry points in the venue. The kiosks would each be rental contract stations to secure deposit and payment terms (cash, credit/debit card, etc.), and patron seat location information for rental of the special devices to patrons prior to start of the event, and collection of the special devices after conclusion of the event.
The special devices carry means for audibly reminding patrons to return the special devices to prevent their inadvertent removal from the venue. To accomplish this, at the end of the event in the venue, a signal is transmitted to the special devices to sound an alarm signal as a reminder to return the device to a kiosk. Failure of a patron to return the special device within a predetermined time period would automatically effect a charge to that patron""s account.
In a system which accommodates cell phones, pagers and PDAs, the central processing station would include a first server at an internet service provider, which receives data communications from the cell phone, two-way pager, or PDA service provider, and a second server located at the venue.
Preferably, the system includes a provision for confirming receipt of an order, and a provision for confirming order delivery/receipt, regardless of the type of communication device used.
These and other objects and features of this invention will become more readily apparent upon reference to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which: